UNDT/2024/014, N'Daw
Given the reputational risk inherent in any investigation, it was incumbent on the Applicant as a staff member applying for or occupying such a senior position as Head of the Country Office, to notify UNFPA of the allegations, suspension and investigation. Considering the negative publicity that such a situation inevitably generates in the media, UNFPA would have been justified in questioning the Applicant’s suitability as a staff member in general and for the position of Country Representative in particular.
Accordingly, the Tribunal found that the facts anterior in this case were directly relevant to an assessment of the Applicant’s suitability for the post of Country Representative and that they should have precluded her appointment to the post had they been known to UNFPA during the hiring process or prior to the appointment.
The Applicant is a former staff member of the United Nations Population Fund (“UNFPA”). On 2 June 2022, she filed an application contesting the decision to terminate her appointment for facts anterior to the appointment.
The Tribunal recalls that pursuant to art. 101.3 of the Charter of the United Nations, which is the instrument at the top of the Organization’s internal legal system, integrity is one of the paramount considerations that should be taken into account in the recruitment of United Nations staff.
Further, pursuant to staff regulation 1.2(b), “[s]taff members shall uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity. The concept of integrity includes, but is not limited to, probity, impartiality, fairness, honesty and truthfulness in all matters affecting their work and status”.
Moreover, the Appeals Tribunal has repeatedly affirmed that staff members are presumed to know the regulations and rules applicable to them and that ignorance of the law cannot be used as an excuse for not respecting such regulations and rules.
The Tribunal also finds that the Applicant’s request to be awarded compensation for moral harm stands to be rejected because the Applicant has not adduced any valid evidence of harm.